


The Way I Want To Touch You

by HazardousFancy



Category: Short Circuit (1986)
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, F/M, Robot Sex, Robot/Human Relationships, Wire Play, wireplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-04 01:30:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12760371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazardousFancy/pseuds/HazardousFancy
Summary: So, I have an AU for short circuit called "Harmonic Drive" wherein, present day, Johnny 5 (along with Ben & Newton) begin to work conditionally with a military science facility to research AI, and build new artificial intelligences based on the information they collect researching Johnny. It's a lot nicer than it sounds! No intrusive or unwanted research allowed.Johnny helps new AI life come into the world, and makes friends with many of the residents of the base, scientists and soldiers alike. One soldier, Ginger Daniels, he forms a relationship with. They want to get it on, but dexterous as Johnny can be, he is one-of-a-kind and they're having a hard time figuring out how exactly Ginger can reciprocate.





	The Way I Want To Touch You

Ginger was no technician. Something Johnny was suddenly painfully aware of, as she stared wide-eyed at his array of switches. He couldn’t help but acknowledge to himself that out of all the personnel in this entire facility he had to fall for the _one_ who had no rudimentary knowledge of robotics. She stared at his insides with understandable confusion, and the prospect of her accidentally breaking something seemed much more troubling now that this was really happening.

But in spite of himself, he couldn’t help but be affected by how… _Cute_ it was. Her gaze was untrained, her puzzlement charming, and her anticipation was all because of her desire to please him. Johnny was never one to miss good intent, and Ginger’s intent toward him was the sweetest he’d ever seen. Apply that to the situation they were trying to create together at this moment, and it sent warmth radiating through his frame.

Finally Ginger looked up at him, her face white, a guilty frown on her face, and Johnny was surprised by her expression. What could she possibly have to feel guilty about?

“I don’t know…” Her voice cracked, “I don’t understand any of this. I thought I could figure it out, like maybe some of my family’s skills rubbed off on me or something, like I really thought I wouldn’t be _completely_ clueless, but this doesn’t look like anything to me.”

She put a sad hand against her face, drawing it up into her shaggy hair, avoiding his gaze. He quickly grabbed her wrist, encouraging her to look at him.

“Hey, hey!” He started. She was his sweetheart - the idea that she was upset over him was maddening, and he wasted no time in snapping her out of it. She looked up at him once more. “We’ll figure it out _together_.” He insisted, and loosened his grip on her wrist to slide his hand up and around hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

She sniffed and gave him a nod, then a brave little smile. He could tell she wasn’t completely confident, but for his sake - for both their sakes, she’d be as confident as she had to be. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to express what that meant to him.

She repositioned herself in front of him, wiggling a little where she sat on the research table. This whole endeavor would probably be a little easier with more light, but though they’d been talking about it for a while, this was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment endeavor, and privacy itself was understandably hard to come by in the facility. Lights off was safest, the only light pouring in from the window to the bright white hallway - and from Johnny’s eyelights. The most useful tool he had at the moment. As long as he gazed down, she had all the light she needed.

“Tell me what to do.” She sat up straight, ready to receive orders; proving that military life was simply inescapable, and he nodded. But he wasn’t he ordering type; and delicately took her hand again, bringing it gently to the switches on the right of his panel.

He wasn’t looking down - he was looking at her, and she noticed, meeting his gaze as he guided her hand. Her eyes glistened and she swallowed dryly, he met her quiet noise with a mechanical hitch of breath, and they paused for just a moment, looking into each other’s eyes before he encouraged her to sink her hand into his wiring, wrapping her fingers around the places where the wires met the sockets. The intimacy stretched so tightly between them, and Ginger’s impulse took over.

She didn’t remove her hand, but sat up straighter and wrapped her left arm around his neck, bringing him down to press eager kisses to the side of his head with the kind of passion he’d learned to treasure so dearly. Her mouth paused at his sensor, her lips lightly brushing the surface before colliding with it; and a soft whimper tumbled from his vocal processor.

It was arousing, exciting, and _torturous_ considering the circumstances - but more importantly it reminded him how well she already knew of his preferences. She might not be a technician, but she was resourceful, determined, and cared too much about him not to remember the ways she’d discovered to please him during their exploration up to this point. She could do this. They could do this.

 _…And they better_. With her lips on the receptive surface he felt like he’d shot up a hundred degrees in temperature. The idea of this tension failing to break was more frightening than he would admit to Ginger. He didn’t _want_ to think that way - didn’t want to hope for too much. He’d never been able to do this himself - and at this point he wasn’t ashamed to admit he’d tried rather fervently; but his ventilation system was already working to quell the aforementioned heat rising inside him, and he couldn’t help but lean hungrily into her kisses. If instincts were involved, they must be onto something. He had nothing to compare it to, couldn’t _really_ be sure if this is what humans felt like when they were turned on, but he had to assume it was at least similar because he wanted more. _God_ , he wanted more. He wanted more in the way he had always heard it described.

He released her hand where he’d put it and used both of his to grab her waist and pull her toward him more. She’d already been close enough to make putting her arm between them to touch him awkward. The motion did nothing but signify cheeky impatience, and she giggled.

“Okay, okay.” She ran her left hand down from his head to his shoulder and sighed happily. Confidence boosted now that she’d gotten a bit of a rise out of him. “I need some instructions here, Johnny.”

“Right.” He nodded through the dizzying rush of playful temptation. And guided her hand to turn the wire around in the socket. He made a little indistinguishable noise, and Ginger stirred, throwing him a questioning look.

“Keep going.” He encouraged, his voice just a little bit breathless. “Right where you should be. Don’t worry about damage,” Johnny pointed to himself, before giving a gentle rap on his own chassis “Tough stuff.”

She nodded at him with a smile before she watched him shut his eyes in concentration, and let herself relax before going back to focusing, swiveling the base of the connector in the socket, and Johnny remained silent. Which was disorienting. Usually he was full of tics and quips and quirks. But it didn’t seem to be a good _or_ bad sign.

She continued, moving from one wire to the next, and when Ginger pushed against the connection of the third, a shiver ran through him.

Ginger considered feeling proud of herself, but found she couldn’t do it in good confidence. He was still silent. She couldn’t help but sense that something was off. For someone with limited facial expressions, Johnny was very easy to read, and the signs weren’t exactly reassuring.

“Are you okay?” She asked plainly; and Johnny’s eyes fell open. He sighed, the sound was a little defeated, and let himself relax. The whirs and clicks starting up all at once within him made it clear that he’d been purposefully tense while she’d been tinkering around.

Ginger knew, to compare it to a human reaction - that holding one’s breath during sex was pretty common, especially near the end. But there was no way he was there yet, was he? It was like he was keeping something from her. He was reacting, and didn’t seem uncomfortable, but… It just didn’t feel right.

“I’m fine.” He finally managed. “Just keep going.”

She was skeptical, but put her faith in him, and continued.

With her next administration, he created a hum, a reaching, struggling noise - and it couldn’t be denied any longer. He was forcing something, or trying to.

“Johnny, I know there’s something wrong. Cough it up.”

“There’s nothing wrong! I feel it - feel your touch…”

Unconvinced, she sat back, removing her hands completely and folding her arms, waiting for a real explanation.

He sighed, relaxing again, this time in utter defeat.

“I…I don’t know.” He threw his hands up and let them fall. “Don’t want you to think this isn’t working, I want this to work, know it can work, but…”

“Are you feeling anything at all?” Her mouth popped open.

“Of course I am!” He demanded, “Wouldn’t _lie_ to you. It’s just…Umm… I don’t think we’re doing it right. Yet.”

“Well if it’s not working, you gotta tell me so we can try something new!” Ginger started up, put off. “Without communication this’ll never work! Why wouldn’t you tell me…”

“No - no! You misunderstand… Haven’t said anything because I think we’re on the right track! It just hasn’t… _Clicked_ yet. Feels _good_ but not… Like _that_.” He told her, reluctantly.

She paused. “…Wanna elaborate?”

“Feels like…” He sighed, not wanting to say it out loud in case it would kill the chances of this being a success through the power of suggestion, but she was right - honesty was the only option here. “Feels like when I tell a joke and people laugh, when someone hugs me or end of a successful systems-sweep… Hmmm… When you hit the right spot, almost makes me feel how I feel when you hold my hand. Stand up for me, help me do something I can’t do myself. It feels good but…”

She smiled. His words were sweet. But Ginger was clearly just as disatisfied with the answer as he was.

“…Doesn’t feel like… You know… Like _‘that’_.”

After a moment, Ginger raised an eyebrow, and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking at all.

“What?” He asked.

“Well…” She ran her hands across his chassis, deciding how to phrase her answer. “…How do you know? I mean, if you can’t feel it, how do you know it’s not like it’s supposed to be? I’m not _really_ doubting you, I guess. And it _sounds_ like you’re right. But how can you be sure?”

“Because I _have_ felt that type of feeling, it’s just never gone all the way to, you know, _actual sex_.” He spoke matter-of-factly.

Ginger just blinked. The explanation didn’t seem thorough enough to register as a complete answer, and she waited for more information.

“You think I want to do this just to please you?” He continued, holding her, and leaning back a little to give her a playfully imposing, challenging look.

“I-I don’t know…” Ginger’s voice cracked, and she turned away from his gaze. Johnny chuckled, placing a hand on her head and giving her hair a few strokes, amused by the effect he had on her, but reassuring her he wasn’t really trying to provoke her. His fingers slipped down, tracing her face and then cupping her cheek in his hand and gently pushing her bangs out of the way with his thumb to meet her eyes with a look of confidentiality.

“Well, I _don’t_.” He stated. “I mean… Want to make you happy, of course I do. But I also want you because **_I want you_**. When you get close to me, let yourself relax… When you touch me - when you let me touch _you_ , when we kiss… That’s amazing. Extraordinary. Magical. Not like anything anyone else does to me. Definitely not like a _hug_. The feeling that makes me wanna stay with you all night, never let you out of my arms… Drives me _crazy_ knowing I can’t kiss you like you can kiss me. That’s what I was hoping for. What I _do_ hope for.” He corrected himself. He wasn’t even close to giving up. “I know it’s sex, because it makes me want to do all sorts of things with you I can’t even describe, and I don’t want anyone else to see. Not what we do, not how I feel, not how I want to make you feel. I want it just between us. Intimate. Private. Thrilling. Feels like how sex is described by humans. I’m not wrong, am I?”

“I don’t think so.” Ginger’s breathless chuckle was accompanied by a little sigh. His description affecting her. She nuzzled against him.

“How you’re feeling right now.” He continued. She thought he was done talking, and surprisedly looked back up at him “I feel the same way.” It was almost a whisper.

Ginger giggled. “Oh,” She teased, “You’re assuming I’m turned on right now, huh?”

“Aren’t you?”

She sighed, and let herself fall against him again. He relished the weight of her on his chassis, her warmth, the heartbeat he felt through her skin. The hum of her throat when she spoke. While she reached to take his hand in hers, weaving her fingers through his and committing the simple feeling of holding his hand to her memory.

“After hearing you talk about getting turned on yourself, yeah, I guess so. A little.”

“Well, I just want you to know, it’s not new to me. Arousal. Just… never been able to take the _next step_.” His next sigh was halfway between defeat and frustration.

“We’ll figure it out.” She stroked the side of his face in a motion she expected would comfort him, and sure enough he relaxed into her touch; letting his eyes flutter shut and the light pressure of her hand soothe his nerves.

He realized that somehow the balance had shifted from Johnny reassuring Ginger that she could operate his nerves to Ginger reassuring Johnny that it would yield results. And he found he was okay with that. Sometimes he forgot he didn’t have to carry these kind of subtle burdens alone anymore.

“Promise?” He asked. In his head it had been a playful request, but when it came out he realized how desperate and genuine it was.

She took his hand and kissed the joint that served as his palm.

“I do.” She whispered, “I’m gonna find a way to give you an orgasm if it takes everything I’ve got.”

The bluntness of the word hit him, and this time the shiver that ran through him wasn’t just a sunny, pleasant sensation, it was the rich, warm, wonderful _erotic_ sensation he clung to so tightly. A sweet taste of what might be, and more than that, reassurance that this was in him somewhere. It wasn’t beyond him - wasn’t impossible. He had the motivation… All he needed was the resolution.

“Can we keep trying? Now, I mean?” He asked, knowing it might be futile if what he’d experienced so far was any indication, but too desperate not to cling to the chance that it might not be. Thirty years was a long time.

“Haven’t had success in the past, on my own, but with you…” He couldn’t help himself, he lifted his hands from the table and ran them up her hips, over her stomach, admiring her through the point of view that told him she was his. The way he was hers. His girlfriend. His partner. His Ginger. Incapable of attaching anything sour to that feeling, and that was how he stayed positive. Through success or failure, they were together, and that was what really mattered.

But god, at this point he couldn’t deny how hard he was wishing for the former. And his intent in looking and touching below her collar was for more than emotional appreciation. “I mean… You get me closer than I ever have before.” His desperation increased as he flipped through the memory files he had of their intimate moments, “Maybe…”

“Hey,” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, similar notions running through her mind, and pressed a kiss to his plastic light cover. It wouldn’t literally silence him like it would someone with lips, but neither of the two were known to put a lot of stock in semantics, and the robot hushed nonetheless. “Of course.” She told him quietly, with a smile. “We’ll try all night if you want.”

If he’d had a throat, he might have choked on his relieved sigh.

Delicately, he guided her hands back to his open panel. When they found their mark, he let his eyelids close, and his body fall forward, arms on either side of her, he let himself lean on the table - concentrating. He was determined to use all his processing power to try and will this to work.

Ginger recognized what he was doing, and one hand briefly went up to caress his back in support before rejoining her other hand, fingers tangling in his wires.

She concentrated too; deciding not to be erratic, but to go about it like actual sex. Maybe she could create a buildup. She took the four wires, pulling each of them out of the sockets by just a hair; ideally it would make whatever sensations he was feeling less intense. If Johnny had been privy to what she was doing, perhaps he’d consider it counter-intuitive, but hey - which of them had gotten off before, huh?

Her fingers danced around the first wire, twirling it in her fingers before pushing it back into place. She couldn’t help but think to herself how bizarre it was to do something teasing if what he was feeling was something like a hug, and not sexual, but it was the only idea she had.

The second wire followed, and she pressed it a little harder into its port; swiveling it before releasing it in favor of the third, which she toyed with before clicking it back into place.

“Anything?” She whispered against his auditory sensor.

He paused before answering.

“N-Not yet.” He admitted. “But…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not giving up yet.” She smiled, and pressed a kiss to the side of his head before casting her gaze back down.

Ginger’s next few tries seemed to do… _Something_ to him. She couldn’t exactly recognize them as common responses to sexual stimulus. He fidgeted a little, grunted here and there, but every time he contributed something it seemed like one more one-sided attempt to grasp the feeling of sex, and it fell flat every time.

She wasn’t about to question him, though. Not anymore. She was prepared to do this all night. During their conversation the light from the hallway outside faltered as the scientists packed up to leave for the night. The only people remaining being those who were working late, and Ginger settled in, content to be one of them. But Johnny being Johnny could only take so much without experiencing results. He pulled back from her, staring intently at her manipulation of his wires, and completely dropped his plan for quiet concentration. With a frustrated growl he grabbed her wrist and pressed her hand harder against the open panel.

She was startled, but wordlessly she obliged, and applied significantly more force - more than she had all night. Enough that her fingertips turned white, and if he’d hadn’t had military-issue sockets, they would likely have been damaged.

Johnny made a sharp, high-pitched sound, and a grunt began a stream of silence; the heat pouring out of him proving just how hard he was working to force himself to feel what he wanted to feel.

“ _More._ ” He hissed, “A-and kiss me!” He gripped her arm with one hand and took her face with his other, desperately pressing his face against hers, encouraging her to use her lips for him. And she did. She ran her mouth over the places she knew were sensitive, and it elicited a gasp from Johnny, but the other places of contact she still wasn’t sure were gaining any traction.

His reactions were unreadable to her now. He doubled over, quiet but his whole body hotter than she’d ever felt it. Whether this was actually beginning to succeed or he was just working himself too hard was unclear, and she was scared it was the latter - but she wasn’t about to quit now, not when he was trying so hard - when it seemed like they’d come so far.

“Please please _please **please**_ ,” He begged - though not to Ginger. Begging the robot gods, maybe; then added in a whisper, “ _Something, **anything**. Oh **God** …_”

The mechanics working away inside Johnny’s body suddenly seemed deafening, and in an half second, they cut out completely, and a hard shock ran up Ginger’s arms and into her body.

“Ah!” Johnny yelped.

Ginger couldn’t speak for a moment, and Johnny realized through his own experience what had happened. Suddenly he was frantic.

“GINGER!” He cried, “Ginger! N-No, what-! D-didn’t mean-!”

Slowly, Ginger swallowed, then opened her mouth.

“I’m… okay… Johnny.” She reassured him, though she wasn’t quite over the shock, it was more important to her that he know she wasn’t hurt.

“B-But!” He was still distraught, not sure whether to touch her or not, he backed up, then moved forward with the intent to hold her, then moved back again, not trusting either choice.

Finally, Ginger reached out to take his hands. It seemed like a risk given how he was acting, but she was willing to take it. There was a little static, but it was okay, and she guided him back into her arms.

“Just felt like a weak kick in the gut.” She lied. With a chuckle, she brushed it off. “I’m in recruit training! _Nothing_ I haven’t felt before.”

Johnny’s face was dripping with guilt. “I’m _**so**_ sorry. Should have known…Should have stopped… I just…”

“What happened?” Ginger gently pet the side of Johnny’s head with numbed, tingling fingers. “Did you..? I mean, did you get anything?”

Johnny searched her face for a moment, seemingly unable to answer, the silence hovered, his lower eyelids rising, the upset in his expression growing.

“No!” He finally cried, voice breaking practically in two; and if he were human he might’ve had tears running down his face. Instead, the sob in his voice replaced the visual. “Thought I could… I mean… It seemed like we were _so close_. I knew the circuit could break, that it was going to, but it’s just… You got me so worked up and it was intense! And you were making me feel more than ever before and I thought, maybe if I could just hold out…”

“You worked yourself over the edge.” She concluded, carrying some of the defeat for him, and she held him even closer. “That’s what happened? The circuit broke?”

“Blew a fuse.” He admitted, “Can barely feel anything right now.”

“Are you okay?!” She demanded.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Nervous system is coming back online.” To prove it, he leaned against her, squeezing her like she was squeezing him, finding comfort in her arms. “I just…” His voice broke again, and a mechanical sob tumbled out, “ _Really wanted this to work_.” He dropped his head onto her shoulder, and let himself shudder.

Ginger melted completely under Johnny’s hurt. No matter how many times she saw him unhappy it always hit her like a ton of bricks. She guided him even closer, wrapping her arms around him and petting the back of his head gently. She pressed her cheek into his, and pulled him flush against her. Anything to soothe him.

After a few moments, she tilted her head back just a bit to speak gently against the side of his head, still tucked into her shoulder. “Do you mean that you didn’t… _finish?_ ” She whispered, “Or did you not feel anything sexual at all?”

He shook his head without lifting it, letting his angular face rub against her clavicle.

“Nothing at all.” He whispered. His voice dry, defeated, pitiful. “I mean, not sure how to explain. Felt your lips, fingers, on my face, your body close to mine, the thrill of your touch - that was arousing, but the direct contact… nothing.”

“I’m sorry, Johnny.”

“Not your fault.” He quickly insisted, but his voice trembled on the words. “ _Damn it._ ” He had been trying to feign regaining composure, but his voice turned into a sharp whine at the end of the interjection, and the failure to keep it inside made him cling to her tighter.

After a moment, a thought came to Ginger.

“Now… I _know_ you’re not giving up.”

“Not giving up.” He ‘sniffed’, and finally leaned back to look her in the face. His expression was soft, eyes tired. But he was serious, and repeated it. “ **Not** giving up. But am giving up tonight. I’m exhausted.” He brought his own hand to his face, and the sound of an unnecessary yawn fell from his vocal processor. “Why? Did you have an idea?”

“…No.” Ginger replied, and fidgeted where she sat. The split second pause before her reply was a clear indicator to Johnny that she was lying. He wasn’t the only one who was easy to read.

“Ginger..?” She looked away and he read her mind, dropping his shoulders as he realized what she was thinking. “ _…Ben and Newton._ ”


End file.
